Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxson served over a decade in prison for the murder of Walter Bowman in 2000. After one week of reviewing their case, the three-judge panel made their decision. North Carolina is the only state that has an official review board to verify innocence, called the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission. After hugging his 10-year-old daughter, Wilcoxson said his plans were just to “pray. Kagonyera was released hours later saying that he was going to look for a job and this “was a blessing”. The confession of another man and DNA proved their innocence. During the original hearings, the two admitted to the killing to avoid life sentences.

Last year, the board released Greg Taylor from prison after he served 17 years.

It took one-week to find these men innocent. Nothing can repair the mental trauma after serving a decade in a maximum security prison. How has the system rehabilitated them to effectively assimilate back into society? They lost 11 years of life and nothing can bring that back. More often than not, convicts and witnesses receive pressure from the courts and officers to give false statements. The judicial system only works if you know how to play the game.